Nicholas Howard
Nick Howard JMC 4853 Nick Howard is a senior at the Univeristy of Oklahoma. He was born to Anita and Rick Howard in 1992 in Grapevine, TX. Oklahomans by birth, Texans by choice My mom, Anita Howard, and my dad, Rick Howard, were both born in Oklahoma in the 1950s. My mother was raised in Yukon, Oklahoma where she had seven brothers and sisters named Ron, Anne, Debbie, Marilyn, Robert, Jim and Judy. Her mother’s name is Christina and her father’s name was Carlos. My grandpa, Carlos, passed away earlier this year from lung cancer. She attended a small private school until she was old enough to attend Yukon High School. Upon graduating, my mother attended the University of Oklahoma and studied interior design. My father was raised in Oklahoma City where he had three brothers and sisters named Randy, Genie and Patty. His father was killed when he was a baby and his mother, Dot, died of Alzheimer’s disease 20 years ago. His stepfather, Gordon, is still alive and I refer to him as Grandpa Gordon. He attended a local school where he played basketball. He originally attended a junior college in Oklahoma City, but he transferred to the University of Oklahoma after two years. He studied architecture and received his master’s degree in the early 1970s. Upon graduation from the University of Oklahoma, my parents worked in Oklahoma City at an architecture firm that is no longer open. My sister, Alissa, was born in Oklahoma City where she would spend the first few years of his life. In 1990, my parents chose to relocate to Dallas, TX for new job opportunities. On July 23rd, of 1992, I was born. Conveniently, my mom’s birthday is also on July 23rd. She was 34 years old when I was born. Gender Roles in my Family Ever since I can remember, my family and I made trips up to Oklahoma to visit our extended family. The drive from Grapevine, TX to Yukon, Oklahoma is approximately 3 hours and we would spend 7-10 weekends every year visiting. On my mom’s side of the family, we usually meet at my grandma’s house, which is quite small. We pack about 40-50 people into a cozy, antiquated house that is way too small for everyone to fit into comfortably. Without fail, my uncles and the male members of the family sit in the living room to talk about or watch sports while the aunts and female members of the family sit in the kitchen to discuss all kinds of things. The female members of my family are usually in charge of preparing the food, but the male members of the family handle any dish that has meat in it – especially if it’s grilled. The men and women also take turns cleaning up the kitchen after a successful gathering, but my mom’s older sisters Debbie and Marilyn are always the ones who call the shots and oversee the cleanup process. My Conservative Family Most of my family, with the exception of my sister and I, is very conservative. The family members always discuss politics, which can get pretty heated depending on the situation. Although I wouldn’t say that my family is inherently racist, I would say that some of them are relatively ignorant to certain racial and ethnic issues. I vividly remember when President Obama was running against John McCain in 2008. One of my extremely conservative family members was asking how someone “like” Obama could be expected to lead our “great nation.” Many of my family members were simply uncomfortable with having someone who wasn’t white as a president. Although they never said that outright, it was obvious to my sister and I, which made both of us very uncomfortable when the topic was brought up at family gatherings. My mother was the first member of her family to graduate from college. My father was also the first member of his family to graduate from college. Because of this, my parents are more tolerant and educated about different cultural issues than their brothers and sisters. When my parents moved to Texas to seek new career opportunities, they found themselves in a more diverse area than Oklahoma City. This allowed them to meet people from many different backgrounds and cultures, which probably caused them to have a broader world-view than their families. Among the people that my parents met after moving to Texas were Kathy and Forrest Purser. My Extended Family Concept My family and the purser family became immediate friends. Their youngest son, Alec, is still my best friend to this day. Alec is Hispanic and his family has taught me a lot about Mexican culture over the years. When I was 13 years old, I brought Alec to a family gathering in Oklahoma with my mom’s side of the family. The fact that Alec was from a different cultural background never registered with me, but it did with my extended family in Oklahoma. To this day, my family asks me if I “am still friends with that little Mexican boy.” While nothing offensive has been said about my friend Alec, I could tell that some of my family members were careful with their words around him. I think that it was a beneficial experience for my family because it caused them to think differently about stereotypes regarding certain types of people, especially people who are Hispanic or Latino. My Family Today Today, my extended family has extended its worldview regarding different types of people. My sister Alissa went to college in San Antonio, Texas at Trinity University where she was immersed in a unique, international culture. She met her boyfriend, Juan Perez, who is from Quite, Ecuador. The last couple of years, Juan has spent Thanksgiving with our family in Oklahoma, but he had never been exposed to Thanksgiving previously because it isn’t celebrated in Ecuador. Many of my family members had been looking forward to meeting Juan and they wanted to ask him questions about his native country and learn more about him. I remember one instance in which Juan was sitting and watching the Green Bay Packers play the Detroit Lions on television with my uncles, my grandfather and me. One of my uncles asked him if he enjoyed football, to which Juan responded that he did not particularly like or understand American football, but that he would watch it. My uncles then asked him what sports he enjoyed watching, and Juan told them that he enjoyed watching competitive dance. My uncles were amused with Juan’s answer and did not understand that competitive dance was an important part of Juan’s culture. Since that particular instance, my uncles and the rest of my extended family have made increasing efforts to get to know Juan and understand how his culture has taught him differently than their culture. Personal Reflection Although some members of my family may not have always been aware of certain cultural issues, I feel fortunate to have two parents that worked their way through college to receive an education, which helped me to learn about important social, racial and cultural issues that exist within our society today. Some of the things that I have heard my family say in the past have made me uncomfortable and have showed me that I want to be someone that can have an intelligent conversation with anyone, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender or social class. Interactions with my family have shown me just how valuable education can be when it comes to certain issues. Many members of my family watch conservative media outlets, such as Fox news, which may cloud their judgment in particular areas. I believe this relates directly to the framing theory that we have discussed in our class because the messages that they received are framed a certain way to reflect the view that the media has of certain individuals. This causes them to view certain groups of people in ways that are definitely not representative of the entire culture to which these certain groups belong. Sitting around and discussing issues with my family has taught me how important it is to gather information from various news sources so that I can formulate an independent opinion that is based off of more objective information. I believe this always me to stay informed and educated about different events that occur within our society today without simply receiving a message that may or may not be framed to fit a mediated agenda. Family Tree Category:Students